Q. What is the standard for determining whether an individual is an independent contractor under Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation law? A. Following a recent decision from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, businesses now face a tougher standard under the state’s unemployment compensation law for demonstrating that a worker is an independent contractor and not an employee. In A Special Touch v. Commonwealth of PA, the Court held that, to claim the exemption from tax liability for a…

Q. What is the new deadline to file an EEO-1 report? A. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced in a press release on May 7, 2020 that it will postpone its annual collection of EEO-1 demographic data until 2021, in light of the circumstances surrounding the novel coronavirus outbreak. This comes at a time when many employers were already waiting for a determination as to when the EEOC would begin collecting reports from 2019.…

On Wednesday, April 15, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, in conjunction with the state’s Department of Health, announced an Order requiring businesses to implement new safety measures in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Order details a litany of new “social distancing, mitigation, and cleaning protocols” that businesses must observe with respect to both employees and customers. Effective immediately, the Order applies to “life-sustaining businesses” authorized to maintain operations during the crisis under a prior order…

Q: My Company’s standard employment settlement agreement includes a no-rehire provision. Can I continue to include that provision for California employees? A: If the agreement settles an employment dispute with an “aggrieved person,” you may no longer include a no re-hire provision in the agreement for California employees. Assembly Bill No. 749 (“AB 749”), which amends the California Code of Civil Procedure, became effective January 1, 2020 and provides that if an unlawful no-rehire provision…

Q. What should my company be doing to prepare for the spread of the coronavirus? A. With the number of coronavirus cases topping 90,000 worldwide, resulting in more than 3,000 deaths across 65 countries, it is only a matter of time before the disease has some impact on normal business operations. However, as the virus continues its march around the globe, there are certain actions companies can take today to mitigate potential disruptions and calm…

Q. I heard that job postings which impose a maximum experience requirement for external applicants may not violate certain provisions of the ADEA, at least in certain Circuits. Is that true? A. The United States Supreme Court recently declined to review an en banc Seventh Circuit decision in Kleber v. CareFusion Corporation, which ruled that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) does not apply to external job applicants who allege that a neutral…

Q. My company has offices in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Is Pittsburgh’s new paid sick leave law the same as Philadelphia’s paid sick leave law? A. Effective March 15, 2020, Pittsburgh will be joining Philadelphia and several other jurisdictions in requiring employers to provide sick leave to its employees. While these laws share the same intent, there are several notable differences in terms of compliance. For companies like yours that operate in both cities, the distinctions…